Tessa Therapeutics announces new Board Member and increase of recent funding round

Recent financing round increased by USD 50 million based on significant additional demand, bringing total funds raised in this round to USD 130 million

SINGAPORE, April 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Tessa Therapeutics, an international clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on cellular immunotherapy treatments for cancer, is delighted to announce that Göran Ando, the former Chairman of Novo Nordisk A/S, has joined the Board as an Independent Director.

The company also announces that, due to additional demand in its latest funding round, it has raised a further USD 50m, bringing the total raised in this round to USD 130 million. Tessa will use the proceeds to continue the advancement of its clinical pipeline and to bring new therapies into clinical trials, broadening the range of cancers that can be treated with the company’s Virus Specific T cell (VST) platform.

Commenting on his new role, Dr. Göran Ando said "Immunotherapy, and specifically T cell therapy, is one of the most exciting areas in the healthcare sector today, and Tessa Therapeutics is a leader in their field. I am delighted to join the Board of this innovative company and look forward to working with my Board colleagues and the management to further develop the pipeline towards making novel therapies available to patients."

Tessa Therapeutics CEO and Co-Founder, Andrew Khoo said "I am proud to welcome Dr. Ando to the Board of Tessa Therapeutics. The wealth of experience that Göran brings from his illustrious career leading some of the world’s top healthcare and pharmaceutical businesses will be of great benefit to us all. Combined with the additional funding we have raised by expanding our recent funding round, I feel that we are now at a key moment in our journey as an important player in the development of cellular immunotherapy, and we are delighted that Dr. Ando is joining us at this exciting stage."

Dr. Ando brings over 35 years of international healthcare experience to Tessa Therapeutics. Starting his career at Pfizer, he held senior positions at leading global healthcare and pharmaceutical businesses including Bristol-Myers Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline, before joining Pharmacia AB as Executive VP and then as Deputy CEO in 1995. More recently, Dr. Ando served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cell Tech Group PLC and has been a Senior Adviser to leading specialist healthcare investment group Essex Woodlands since 2007. Until March 2018, Dr. Ando has been a member of the Board of Directors of Novo Holdings A/S.

Tessa’s Virus-Specific T cell (VST) technology is showing compelling results and an excellent safety profile in the treatment of cancer. The company is currently conducting a multi-center Phase III trial targeting nasopharyngeal cancer, and a Phase I trial targeting cervical cancer and oropharyngeal cancer, set to move into Phase II in 2019. In addition, Tessa is developing a broad pipeline of pre-clinical programs targeting major cancers such as liver and lung using its VST platform.

Tessa Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with the scientific vision of revolutionizing the treatment of cancer by redirecting the body’s potent anti-viral immune response to recognize and kill cancer cells. Tessa’s core virus-specific T cell (VST) platform has shown compelling results in the treatment of solid tumors, and the company is building a portfolio of therapies addressing a wide range of tumors by combining the qualities of its T cell platform with complementary technologies. Tessa’s lead trial for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the world’s largest Phase III T cell immunotherapy trial for any cancer indication. The company has built up robust operational and supply chain capabilities to successfully deliver autologous T cell therapy treatments to a large patient pool across five countries. The combination of technologies from its academic, clinical, and commercial partners have enabled the company to create a fully-integrated approach to the treatment of cancer with immunotherapy.